Lebanon's BankMed is opening an office in Dubai and setting its sights on Egypt as part of an overseas expansion drive aiming to double assets over the next five years, its chairman said on Thursday.

Speaking to Reuters at an event to mark the opening of the bank's office in Dubai, Mohammed Hariri said BankMed aimed to increase its total assets to $25 billion through a mixture of mainly organic growth and some potential acquisitions.

"I think Egypt is an area that is upcoming for us. It's a big economy and I think there are opportunities there but only at the right time and for the right price," Hariri said, adding Egypt was a market where you could only expand into through acquisition.

Through its branch in Dubai's financial free zone, which also includes its MedSecurities Investment unit, it will offer services including trade finance, treasury and brokerage, targeting young professional clients and the significant Lebanese diaspora, Hariri said.

BankMed had total assets worth 21.54 trillion Lebanese pounds ($14.36 billion) at the end of June, according to the latest financial statement on its website.

It has operations currently in Lebanon, Switzerland, Turkey, Iraq, Cyprus and Saudi Arabia. - Reuters